Trump Approves Release of Disputed Memo

February 2, 2018//-US President Donald Trump has approved the release of a controversial memo thought to detail bias on the part of the FBI.

The memo is about the FBI’s conduct of its inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in US elections.

Mr Trump said he had given to Congress, which has now released it.

The FBI and the US justice department, as well as Democrats and some Republicans, have voiced opposition to the memo being released.

Democrats say it is aimed at derailing investigations into Mr Trump, while the FBI has publicly complained of “material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy”.

Controversy over the memo, which was written by Republican congressional staffers, has raged for days.

Asked about the contents of the memo, Mr Trump told reporters it was a disgrace and a lot of people should be “ashamed of themselves”.

Earlier on Friday the president accused top officials of politicising FBI and justice department investigations to damage his Republican party.

What’s in the secret memo?

Approved by the House Intelligence Committee on Monday and by Mr Trump on Friday, the document raises “concerns with the legitimacy and legality” of the handling by the justice department and the FBI of requests for surveillance warrants against the Trump team.

It says this represents “a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses”.